Katipunan schools stumble in UAAP HS Basketball opener

c/o UAAP Media Team

UAAP Season 87 Boys Basketball Tournament Standings

NUNS 1-0
UE 1-0
FEU-D 1-0
DLSZ 1-0
UPIS 0-1
Ateneo 0-1
ADU 0-1
UST 0-1

Games Thursday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre

8 a.m. – DLSZ vs NUNS (Boys)
10 a.m. – UE vs AdU (Boys)
12 noon – Ateneo vs FEU-D (Boys)
2 p.m. – UPIS vs UST (Boys)
4 p.m. – NUNS vs Ateneo (Girls)

UNIVERSITY of the East spoiled the head coaching debut of Ford Arao, taking down Ateneo de Manila University with an 88-80 victory to open its campaign in the UAAP Season 87 Boys Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Second-year guard Kristoper Lagat shined to give the Junior Warriors a fitting opening to their campaign, contributing 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds, one steal, and one block.

In the last game, De La Salle Zobel dashed University of the Philippines Integrated School’s efforts to score its first victory in over a year, leaning on the clutch heroics of Kieffer Alas and Bonn Daja in overtime to claim a gritty 79-77 win.

With the win, UE’s pursuit to break a 22-year Final Four and title drought is off to the right start under the guidance of second-year head coach Karl Santos.

“Isang pamilya kami ‘eh… Mas gutom kami ngayon kasi as much as possible, gusto namin na since nakuha na ng 16-under, kami naman. We know it’s gonna be hard, but motivation din sa amin ‘yon na may 20+ years drought, secondly, nagchampion yung 16-under team namin,” Santos said.

A blazing start to the payoff period allowed UE to establish an 11-point cushion, 80-69, with 5:45 left after a floater by Xedric Diaz and a top of the key triple from Lagat.

However, a quick seven-point spurt from Ziv Espinas and Alfonso Tan trimmed Ateneo’s deficit to four with less than 2:30 remaining.

The Junior Warriors’ comfortable start to the fourth quarter paid dividends as they withstood the Blue Eagles’ late rally, sealing the opening day victory with a layup from Diaz and two inside hits from Lance Sabroso to gain an 86-76 lead with 1:07 left.

In UE’s opening day triumph, Sabroso chipped in 14 points, eight rebounds, and two steals, while Louie Bual contributed 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Martin Almanza was the fourth Junior Warrior in double figures with 11 points, three steals, and two assists.

Meanwhile, after being limited to 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting in regulation, Alas went off in overtime by contributing six of seven Junior Archers points to go along with two rebounds in the extra period.

DLSZ took advantage of the absence of UPIS topscorer Bruce Tubongbanua in overtime, who was fouled out at the 4:36 mark, while limiting the Fighting Maroons to a woeful 1-of-6 shooting in the process.

After Jhustin Hallare trimmed the lead to one with a floater at the 2:18 mark, Alas and Daja connived for a four-point spurt, built on a triple and a free throw, respectively, to give the the Junior Archers a 79-74 cushion with 1:23 remaining.

A quick three-point spurt from Rocco Melicor kept UPIS in the 79-77 contest with 26.4 seconds left, but Season 86 Rookie of the Year Nathan Egea’s triple-double outing was spoiled as his potential game-tying layup was blocked by Daja at the buzzer.

The Fighting Maroons last won a game across both the U-19 and U-16 divisions last January 14, 2024, where they triumphed over the Junior Warriors with an 80-71 decision.

“We were expecting UP to be really hungry for a win, and then they have a new system and a new coach, so it’s really a new UP team that we’re seeing… But it’s a good win, we’ll take whatever win we can get. First game jitters were there, but good thing we held on,” DLSZ head coach Boris Aldeguer said.

Daja ended the day with a crucial double-double effort of 21 points and 15 rebounds to go along with two steals, one assist, and one block. Alas, who played his first formal game since spraining his ACL last June, tallied 16 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and one block.

Maco Dabao chipped in 15 points to go along with five rebounds, three steals, one assist, and one block.

Ateneo center Jay Leal tallied 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one block in the losing effort, while Tan scored 18 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists, and one steal.

Espinas chipped in 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block, while Chris Urbina nearly tallied a double-double with eight points, 10 assists, four rebounds, and three steals.

Egea paced UPIS in the loss with a triple-double effort of 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to go along with three steals, while Tubongbanua powered its scoring punch with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds, two steals, and one block.

Melicor tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, and one steal, while Jaime Gomez de Liaño chipped in 11 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, and one block.

The Scores:

Third Game (Boys)

UE (88) – Lagat 16, Sabroso 14, Bual 12, Almanza 11, Bana 8, Diaz 7, Lorenzo 7, Alejandro 4, Chua 2, Aguas 2, Timbol 2, Cuevas 2, Dahino 1, Farochilen 0.

Ateneo (80) – Leal 19, Tan 18, Espinas 12, Urbina 8, Delos Santos 8, Lacsamana 8, Gatmaitan 4, Reyes 2, Aquino 1, Kallos 0, Asistio 0, Ymasa 0.
Quarterscores: 25-24, 44-47, 69-62, 88-80

Fourth Game (Boys)

DLSZ (79) – Daja 21, Alas 16, Dabao 15, Favis 7, Espinosa 5, Atienza 4, Lopez 4, Reguera 3, Tailan 2, Mben 2, Arejola 0, Alpapara Jo. 0, Alpapara Ja. 0, Borrero 0.

UPIS (77) – Tubongbanua 19, Melicor 15, Egea 14, Gomez de Liaño 11, Hallare 11, Uvero 7, Coronel 0, Hernandez 0.
Quarterscores: 14-14, 31-31, 52-56, 72-72, 79-77